The Golden Ghost
The Golden Ghost was a series of James Bond comic strips that ran in The Daily Express newspapers in 1970 and 1971. They were later released in Paperback form by Titan Books. Plot MI6 received a call from Madame Spectra,the new leader of SPECTRE, who plansned to sell them one million pounds of information with the catch of taking Agent 007 as a hostage until the negotiations are over. Bond agreed and took Miss Moneypenny with him as an observer to the appointed meeting place with SPECTRE. There, Bond received word that he was to swim out to sea where a boat would pick him up and take him to an island where the negotiations were to rake place. Shortly after he was picked up, the boat was attacked and the captain killed. He tried to write a message on the cabin wall, but died before finishing. James swam back to shore and returned to MI6, where he told them of the failed mission and feared that SPECTRE would fear that MI6 had double-crossed them. Meanwhile, on a talk show, Bridget Penwyn was being interviewed about the witch cult in Britain, and closed the show with a prophecy that the new nuclear powered jet-dirigible, the Golden Ghost, would face disaster on its maiden voyage. When discussing the information with M, Bond suggested that the SPECTRE agent on the boat might have been trying to draw a dirigible, and say "Bridget Penwyn". Under the guise of "Mark Hazard", Bond went to see Penwynn for a private reading to get information on the Golden Ghost, but her table exploded and killed her. He then searched her house for clues and found a cigarette lighter with the letters "GG" monogrammed on it. MI6 confirms that lighters like it were given to people involved with the Golden Ghost project, but when M met the project leaders about postponing the flight, they refuse, but allow Bond to be a passenger for security. On further investigation, MI6 discovered that Felix Bruhl, a key promoter for the Golden Ghost, was a former employee of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and that the pilot, Arno Lane's, fingerprints were on the lighter taken from Penwyn's home. Aboard the airship, Bond enlisted the help of a flight attendant named Velvet Lee, who arranges for him to interview Misters Bruhl and Lane. After Bhrul stormed out of the interview, it was reported to him by a cohort that the champagne and cigarettes served on the ship had been tainted with sleeping drugs, and that he now had complete control of the dirigible. The passengers were then taken to a South Atlantic island where Bond and Velvet meet again. The Prime Minister then received a letter that the passengers were being held for ransom at ten million pounds, and the airship for an additional ten million. Bruhl then revealed to the passengers their situation, and took Bond away from the rest, where he revealed that the boat that attacked him and the SPECTRE Agent had been one of his. Bruhl then ordered the passengers to write to their families about the ransom, and informed them that anyone whose ransom was not paid would be killed. He then used Bond as an example of what kind of death awaited them. Bond was then slashed and keelhauled through shark-infested waters. He was able to escape by cutting his bonds with a knife in his belt buckle, and swimming away. Believing Bond dead, Bruhl and his men began to plan the next step in their plan. Bond then rescued Velvet from rape at Bruhl's hands, and the two then freed the co-pilot before heading for the Golden Ghost. Bhrul and Lane tried to stop Bond, and Lane was killed in the firefight. Bhrul, who had sneaked aboard then took Velvet hostage and demanded that Bond come to the galley with his hands up. When he arrived, Bond set Bhrul off balance by having co-pilot Sutton send the ship into a dive and the two then brawled through the kitchen and dining room. Eventually Bond backed against an exit door, and lead Bhrul into a charge. Bond then opened the door at the right time and the promoter fell out of the ship. By this time, Sutton had arranged for a nearby English military ship to pick up the stranded passengers, while Bond and Velvet enjoyed the ride home in the Captain's Cabin. Characters Horak Bond.png|James Bond|link=James Bond (Literary) Horak M.png|M |link=M (Literary) Horak Moneypenny.png|Miss Moneypenny|link=Miss Moneypenny (Literary) Velvet Lee.png|Velvet Lee|link=Velvet Lee Felix Bhrul.png|Felix Bruhl|link=Felix Bruhl Madame Spectra.jpg|Madame Spectra|link=Madame Spectra Gallery Titan Golden Ghost.jpg|The Golden Ghost paperback from Titan books Category:James Bond comics